There has been polyglots that have spanned time and the world. Most of the polyglots of notable achievements have since passed on, but the ones that are alive today are making a place for themselves in their world. There are many polyglots that have passed on, but here are the Top 5 Polyglots in the world. Without these famous polyglots we would not have many of the books, poems and dictionaries that are available today. Most of them had studied to become polyglots because they were interested in it, not because they had to.

João Guimarães Rosa passed away in 1967 and was born in 1908 in Brazil. He was one of the top novelists in Brazil and he had authored Grande Sertão: Veredas, which translates to The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, which is said to be the equivalent of Ulysses. He had taught himself to be a polyglot. He was said to have spoken German, English, Spanish, and some Russian. He said he could read others including Latin, Greek, Dutch and Swedish. He said that he studied polyglotism as a passion.